FILE PHOTO: Drones fly over the Han river showing messages to support the country, as measures to avoid the spread of the coronavirus continue, in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap via REUTERS
The World Health Organization welcomed news that Moderna Inc's COVID-19 vaccine candidate showed 94.5% efficacy but said "many questions" remained and it was no time for complacency as infections surged in the United States and Europe.
DEATHS AND INFECTIONS
EUROPE
* German Chancellor Angela Merkel said leaders of the country's 16 federal states were resisting her efforts to agree stricter measures.
* The European Union has struck a deal for up 405 million doses of German biotech firm CureVac's potential COVID-19 vaccine.
* Hungary will veto the European Union's 2021-27 budget and its COVID-19 recovery scheme if access to funds is made conditional on governments' adherence to the rule of law.
* The coronavirus was circulating in Italy in September 2019, a study by the National Cancer Institute of the Italian city of Milan shows, signalling it might have spread beyond China earlier than thought.
* Britain said it will open two new "mega" laboratories in early 2021 for carrying out tests, a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson went into self-isolation after coming into contact with someone diagnosed with the virus.
* The Swedish government moved to cut the size of public gatherings sharply.
AMERICAS
* The city of Philadelphia will ban indoor gatherings and the nearby state of New Jersey will strictly limit their size as U.S. officials struggle to slow a COVID-19 surge that could overwhelm hospitals and kill thousands.
* Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine will be easy to distribute, particularly to rural areas, because it can be stored for one month at standard refrigerator temperatures, the head of vaccines for the U.S. Operation Warp Speed program said.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* Countries across the Asia-Pacific region reported record new numbers and fresh outbreaks, with Japan facing mounting pressure to reimpose a state of emergency and South Korea warning it was at a "critical crossroads".
* South Australia reported 14 new cases, a rapid spike in the state's first outbreak since April, prompting officials to impose social distancing restrictions.
* New Zealand has made masks mandatory from Thursday for users of public transport in Auckland as well as on all domestic flights.
* Pakistan banned public political rallies after recording its highest daily coronavirus infections since July for four days running.
* The International Olympic Committee's chief said he was confident that the Tokyo Games will be held successfully next year.
MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Iran reported a record 13,053 new infections and 486 deaths over the past 24 hours as the government planned tougher restrictions.
MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS
* Moderna's experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on interim data from a late-stage trial, the company said.
* Breakthrough technology that transforms the body into a virus-zapping vaccine factory is poised to revolutionise the fight against COVID-19, but future pandemics and even cancer could be next, scientists say.
* Russia expects to produce primarily freeze-dried Sputnik V vaccine doses by the spring, a top official said.
* Johnson & Johnson launched a new large-scale late-stage trial to test a two-dose regimen of its experimental vaccine.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
* Global stocks climbed to a record and oil prices jumped as the latest positive data for a possible COVID-19 vaccine and signs of economic recovery in Asia boosted sentiment.
* China's industrial output rose at a faster-than-expected pace in October, while retail sales continued to recover albeit at a slower-than-forecast pace.
